More Wining and Dining

I’ve been eating like royalty the past few days, so before reading further consider yourself warned that this post is entirely about food.

Sunday Night ~ La Marmite (Cameroonian and West African food): Sunday evening, Brooke and I joined Marybeth’s interns for dinner at La Marmite, located just north of the city centre on Independence Avenue (and fairly close my office). La Marmite takes its name from the French word for a cavernous cooking pot. The owner is originally from Cameroon (colonized by the French) and he has done an amazing job decorating the place – I wish I’d brought my camera – some beautiful masks and wooden carvings decorate the restaurant; the patterned table clothes, cozy alcoves, candles, and uni-sex bathrooms (!) give the place character.

I’ve been itching to try this place - I’d had West African food almost once a week when I lived in Geneva and fell in love with it. There were several men on my floor from Burkina Faso who would cook huge traditional feasts on Sunday afternoons, and the spread usually included a spicy peanut-chicken stew, which they always generously shared with me. Communal kitchens do have their advantages.

Anything with peanut butter is off to a good start in my book, so I was able to narrow down my choices fairly quickly. Alex and I both ordered the Vegetarian Peanut Butter with couscous, a variety of vegetables (eggplant, tomato, spinach) cooked in a thick, creamy nutty sauce. Elena ordered the fish of the day which came with couscous and salad, while Brooke ordered Mafe Chicken, a West African specialty where chicken and spinach are cooked with roasted groundnuts (like peanut butter). There wasn’t a grain of couscous left on anyone’s plate, except for a bit of meat left on Brooke’s. Her dish was really tasty, but ordering chicken dishes here isn’t the same as the states, where boneless, skinless chicken is the standard. It’s not unusual to find bones or bits of grizzle in your meat and takes a little getting used to.

Tuesday Night ~ Ocean Basket (Seafood!): Ocean Basket is a local chain I’d heard good things about, so I joined Shaun and friends for dinner Tuesday evening. I’m proud of myself for being so brave. I didn’t like seafood as a kid – fish sticks and tuna made me gag; I didn’t even try salmon or regular cooked fish until college. I definitely eat and enjoy seafood now, but it’s still not something I eat very often (fresh salmon and tilapia don’t really work on a law student schedule or budget).

Without thinking, I told Shaun I liked seafood and trying new things, so he ordered for me without letting me look at the menu. I was a little nervous when a steaming seafood platter – shells, antennae, eyeballs, fish skin, and all – was plopped on my place mat. The platter included oysters, mussels, prawns, fried baby octopus, port sardines, calamari, and linefish. I tried everything. The fried baby octopus (it makes me sad to say that) might have been my favorite. Everything tasted quite fresh and good – but I did have a hard time with the prawn antennae (they were like six inches long!!) strewn about the table. I certainly didn’t clean up my plate but I did pretty well.